


The View From Above

by Starrdust64



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4 Arena - Fandom, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax - Fandom, Persona Series
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Character Study ???, M/M, Miki and shinji just kinda sit there in the afterlife and observe what’s going on down on earth, October 4th Spoilers, Referenced akishinji, Shinjiro makes like a tree and pines for ab 3 sentences and thats about it, Yes i did make that joke in the first line SUE ME, Yu and the IT are also mentioned but like twice so I didn’t bother tagging him or any of them, but if you’re reading this you already know, drabble length, i am not v good at writing sorry not sorry, jesus Christ this game is 14 years old you SHOULD know if you’re in the ship tag, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:09:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28789245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starrdust64/pseuds/Starrdust64
Summary: What happens after death invites Shinjiro with open arms and a smile.
Relationships: Aragaki Shinjiro/Sanada Akihiko
Kudos: 15





	The View From Above

**Author's Note:**

> *twerks*  
> I think I’ve said all that I’ve wanted to say in the tags? I wrote this at 2 am on a school “night” (get it bc it was so late that it was the morning) and finished around uhhhhh 3:12. Writing is typically a very draining process for me, but this was a very fun concept to explore. I hope you enjoy!

“Do you see that, Shinji? He’s gonna catch a cold! Aki isn’t even wearing a shirt!”

“Well that’s what he gets for being a dumbass! He hasn’t bathed in 5 days!”

“Language!”

“Miki you’re gonna be the second death of me.”

That got a laugh out of her.

Shinjiro Aragaki never believed in an afterlife despite being raised by nuns. He wasn’t very religious and never really wondered or wanted to know what happens after you kick the bucket. The nuns always spoke of salvation through Christ; how you would live for an eternity if you accepted him. He never bought into it, but he played along like most of the other kids in the orphanage who didn’t want their ass paddled.

On October 4th he found out what was beyond life itself.

He found it kind of funny that after all of this persona bullshit, after all the pills, the fucking Kirijos and all their “expertice”, and so on, that he knew that he’d die at a young age. It was a simple yet sad fact that he had to accept the first time Castor tried to murder him in the middle of the night at the ripe age of 14.

Imagine going through that AND puberty. Checkmate.

Originally, Shinji very much thought he was going to “hell”. He’s done some genuinely fucked up things. So when he arrived at a set of golden gates, you could say he was a little more perplexed than ever.

And there stood little Miki Sanada, waiting for him. Snow White pigtails pulled up by two cherry red ribbons and her cutesy white dress that was only for “special days”.

The one she had worn the day the orphanage had burned.

The dress that the first responders handed Aki, charred and black as the seven-year-old wailed. 

Of course, like any person with a soul, Shinjiro cried. Cry was an understatement. He bawled his eyes out at the sight of Miki. He just sat there on both knees, crying into the small of her tiny shoulder. The words “I’ve been watching over you and big brother” really were a punch to the gut. Not a bad punch to the gut, but it definitely gave him whiplash. The good kind you get after you ride a crazy roller coaster.

After that, some less important but still important things happened. Shinjiro never questioned Miki on how the afterlife worked much despite the fact the she seemed quite knowledgeable on it, mainly because he didn’t care. He was standing right here with Miki fucking Sanada. That was the only proof that he had made it into the good side. From what he had pieced together, though, was that mortal souls were incapable of carrying out eternity as simply omnipresent beings. So he still looked human, and felt kind of human, but wasn’t human? All he knew was that he couldn’t really wrap his mind around it, and that if he was still “human”, it would’ve given him a major headache.

Most of their time at first was spent catching up. From this “heaven”, mortals who had passed on could watch people. Typically people watched their loved ones, and Miki apparently “had a blast” watching her older brother beat the shit out of shadows.

“It’s just like that one time he killed that roach for me Shinji!! But cooler and more punches!!”

Miki told him her favorite parts of their “totally epic you, better believe it” story: Yukari making fun of Junpei, getting to watch her older brother and Shinjiro himself fight and kill the bad guys, Koromaru being the cutest dog ever, “Princess” Mitsuru, Aigis catching Shinjiro make food, Junpei and Chidori’s “storybook” romance.....the list would go on and on. Of course, there was sad things too, but dying as a child meant that even if you’ve been dead for a hot minute, you still somewhat retained that childlike brightness in her eyes that was absent in adolescents.

After the tale of SEES ended with “The answer” (even though both of the two already knew “the answer” and were both frankly very frustrated watching the events unfold), they watched over the new persona users from a backwater town. Yu, the leader and was Miki’s favorite, which prompted the thought if Miki would be a natural or artificial Persona-user. She seemed like wildcard material to him; the energy simply radiated from her.

“I really like Mitsuru’s jacket though, it looks cozy.”

“It looks way too hot to be practical if I’m being frank with you, kiddo.” he glanced over to her while they were watching the daily events of the living’s lives unfold on top of the “holy reflection water” or whatever the fuck it’s called. This week was a treat: SEES and the Investigation Team had finally met. There were heat-filled battles, emotions, and not-to-mention a stupidly hot shirtless childhood best friend. Aki might’ve been a late bloomer, but boy oh boy it sure was worth it. Shinjiro would never tell Miki that he had a crush on her older brother, mainly because she already knew. She really is that goddamn observant.

“Hmph. Well I think it looks pretty. And I’m not a kid! I’m like ummm...” she thought for a few seconds, it was obvious that she hadn’t counted their age difference in a long time. “Three years apart! That’s more than Ken!” She informed him proudly.

Even though Miki still used her 5-year-old body, she had obviously matured past that age. In wherever-the-fuck they were, you could change your age by just thinking. Miki preferred to stay at the age that she died at. ‘It just feels right’ she’d say on multiple occasions. And honestly? He doesn’t blame her.

Things got quiet for while as an intense battle broke out.

And they stayed like that.

Until-

“Shinji?” the young girl spoke up softly after a particular heated battle. If they were human, her face would cast somewhat of a reflection on the water.

“What’s up?”

She bit her lip.

“Do you....um....think big brother Aki will be okay? I mean...”

Shinjiro cracked a smile.

“Look, Miki, you’re brother is a dumbass-“

“HEY”

Shinjiro grumbled, but smiled at the same time.

“Aki doesn’t exactly think before he acts. Remember that time he went into total ketosis?”

“Mhm”

“Or the time he took a run at 2AM during a thunderstorm and almost became a burned chicken nugget?”

“Mhm”

“Or the time he fought a bear?”

“I was scared to death Shinji!”

“Well, that’s just kinda how he rolls. And if watching over him for all of these years has taught us anything, it’s that Lady Luck is on his side. You shouldn’t worry at all about him. If it’s his time, then we’ll be here for him, waiting.”

Miki perked up at the idea of being able to see her big brother again.

“We’ll see Aki again someday”, she whispered, “I know we will.”


End file.
